x86 Solaris 9 hates LILO

finegan · 02-16-2003, 07:29 AM

With an entry like:

Code:

other = /dev/hda1
    label = solaris9
    ignore-table

I still get this:

Code:

Device 0x0300: Invalid partition table, 2nd entry
  3D address:     63/254/1022 (16434494)
  Linear address: 1/129/1 (24192)

at the end of running lilo.

If I try to add the line "unsafe", I get:

Fatal: TABLE and UNSAFE are mutually incompatible.

and it horks.

Has anyone got the right lilo.conf entry for a Solaris boot. Also, should I be handing off to the solaris boot partition: /dev/hda1 or the solaris partition /dev/hda2

Oh, and btw, the MBR doesn't live on /dev/hda, so that's not part of the problem.

Cheers,

Finegan

trickykid · 06-08-2003, 12:27 PM

Fin,

You ever find a solution or workaround. One day I swear I'll install Solaris and see for myself..

finegan · 06-08-2003, 02:22 PM

Nope, even after I compiled in all of the partition advanced support so that the kernel should be able to see the partitions its still confused, misidentifies the partitions as swap. Honestly, use the Solaris bootloader, it'll see the Linux partition and be able to boot to it. The only reason I didn't is that I would have to figure out the whole pci-id chain info because Solaris 9 can't by default see an HPT 370 controller.

I haven't booted into Solaris in a while, since I went to a third monitor actually.

Cheers,

Finegan

2damncommon · 06-08-2003, 08:47 PM

I had the same problem with a Solaris 9 install on a seperate disk.
Solaris looked interesting but since I was unable to multi boot easily, Solaris is gone for now.

EDIT: If SCO has their way this may become SolarisAndBSDQuestions.org

GAVollink · 06-11-2003, 07:34 PM

Ya gotta love Google... I remembered seeing this, and decided to look it up...

http://wwws.sun.com/software/linux/docs/dual_boot.html

Have fun!

2damncommon · 06-11-2003, 07:46 PM

Very good link, GAVollink. For me the problem was that I was attempting to fool with Solaris as a multiboot with exhisting Linux already installed. The solution of having Solaris boot everything is not what I would start with.
I installed Solaris to a seperate hard disk and attempted to use map-drive in the Lilo config file (as I had done with a Windows XP preview install).
Perhaps removable drive bays are the better answer here.

carboncopy · 07-03-2003, 09:32 PM

Slackware 9 does not come with chain.b
Will that be a problem? As I understand it chain.b is the chain bootloader.

Another thing, I think we boot into /dev/hda1 in Solaris it called it Solarisx86 partition. I think it is formated in FAT for x86 version.
I don't know why I say this but I think I saw it in my FreeBSD fdisk or something like that.

Anyway, I can't confirm that now cause I crashed my Solaris after installing Sun Java IDE (NetBean) updates. It can't recover from it. So I overide it with FreeBSD

CHeers!

subaruwrx · 08-16-2004, 08:52 PM

So, has anyone found a solution to this?

2damncommon · 08-16-2004, 09:06 PM

Here is my Lilo entry for Solaris

Code:

other = /dev/hda2
  label = SOLARIS_9
  change
    partition = /dev/hda2
      activate
    partition = /dev/hda1
      deactivate
  table = /dev/hda

I run "/sbin/lilo -P ignore" when I install/reinstall Lilo.
Both Solaris and FreeBSD are on their own primary partitions which they "sliced" themselves.
I think the "activate" option is needed depending on what partition your MBR lists as active. (Win 98 on /dev/hda1)
I think the "-P ignore" is needed since the OSs "sliced" their own partitions.

Not sure this is "the solution" - it was mine.

subaruwrx · 08-16-2004, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 2damncommon

I think the "activate" option is needed depending on what partition your MBR lists as active. (Win 98 on /dev/hda1)

Sorry I don't get what you mean here.

2damncommon · 08-16-2004, 09:57 PM

The active or boot partition listed in the MBR is what the computer will attempt to boot if there is no boot manager.
The gist of it for my Solaris install was that I needed to tell it it was the active partition and tell Lilo to ignore that it was not happy with the Solaris partition geometry.

subaruwrx · 08-17-2004, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 2damncommon
The active or boot partition listed in the MBR is what the computer will attempt to boot if there is no boot manager.
The gist of it for my Solaris install was that I needed to tell it it was the active partition and tell Lilo to ignore that it was not happy with the Solaris partition geometry.

thanks, so its possible to install both linux and solaris on the same hard disk?

I just got all my partitions destroyed by solaris

I have 1 primary partition on winxp, the rest all logical partition with linux swap, followed by fc2, slackware, suse, mandrake and lastly jds. I'm left with about 30gb space for solaris.

jlliagre · 08-17-2004, 05:22 AM

Quote:

I just got all my partitions destroyed by solaris

I had a Solaris partition silently destroyed by Linux (Mandrake 9.2), so it seems sometimes these O/S make bad neighbours ... due primarily to an unfortunate partition ID mismatch (I'm not going to argue about who stole the ID to the other ...)

I currently run a quadri-boot laptop with:
WinXP
Linux JDS2
Solaris 10
Linux Debian (from knoppix)

I'm using the Solaris boot manager on the MBR that is able to boot all but the JDS partition, for a disk geometry issue that will be corrected in the final solaris 10 release I guess.
In the meantime, I installed lilo on the fourth partition which allows me to boot all the non solaris partition, and specially the JDS one.

subaruwrx · 08-17-2004, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jlliagre
I had a Solaris partition silently destroyed by Linux (Mandrake 9.2), so it seems sometimes these O/S make bad neighbours ... due primarily to an unfortunate partition ID mismatch (I'm not going to argue about who stole the ID to the other ...)

I currently run a quadri-boot laptop with:
WinXP
Linux JDS2
Solaris 10
Linux Debian (from knoppix)

I'm using the Solaris boot manager on the MBR that is able to boot all but the JDS partition, for a disk geometry issue that will be corrected in the final solaris 10 release I guess.
In the meantime, I installed lilo on the fourth partition which allows me to boot all the non solaris partition, and specially the JDS one.

Got a few questions to shoot.

1) What is your install procedure? (Starting and ending with which OS?)

2) How did you partition your hdd? (Including stating the primary and logical partition)

3) Did you partition your hdd properly first before installing the OS?

Anyway, it seems that when I tried to manually partitioning in solaris, I only create a new partition. After that, it prompt me about the x86 boot partition, and I can't make this partition to reside anywhere else except at the beginning of the disk. If I let it reside at the beginning of the disk, all my previous winxp and linux partition will be gone/push back?

thanks

jlliagre · 08-17-2004, 12:26 PM

Quote:

1) What is your install procedure? (Starting and ending with which OS?)

I first created my partition table from a Knoppix live CD. I never left that CD too far all along the installation, as it is really a life saver when the boot loaders are messed, or just to understand what's going on on the disk from the outside.
I started with windows XP on part1, as I'm then sure it can't break anything else.
Then I installed JDS2 (kind of suse) on part2. Dual booting OK with grub
After that I removed the third partition (see Q3) and installed Solaris 10, dual booting OK with XP and Solaris, but impossible to access JDS2: (terse invalid boot <something> message immediatly after selecting partition 2)
Finally I installed a debian (from the Knoppix CD) on the fourth partition, I installed lilo on that last partition, not on the MBR to keep the Solaris loader.
Actually I think I overwrote the Solaris MBR at that time and noticed I wasn't able to boot S10 again, so I reinstalled it (the MBR)

That done, all works.
I can read the linux files with explore2fs under XP. I can mount read/write the FAT32 from solaris and linux, I can mount read/write the ufs solaris partition under both linux, and I can mount read only the ext2fs partitions under solaris with ext2fs.solaris10.tar.gz.
The only slightly annoying issue remaining is that to boot my JDS, I have to first select booting partition 4, then partition 2 under a different boot loader.

Quote:

2) How did you partition your hdd? (Including stating the primary and logical partition)

This is my Toshiba tecra 9100 HD table from the linux point of view. As you see, I only used primary partitions.

Code:

Disk /dev/hda: 30.0 GB, 30005821440 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3648 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1               1         637     5116671    b  W95 FAT32
/dev/hda2             638        1274     5116702+  83  Linux
/dev/hda3   *        1275        3187    15359400   82  Linux swap
/dev/hda4            3187        3648     3706416   83  Linux

Quote:

3) Did you partition your hdd properly first before installing the OS?

If I remember well, Solaris either want to create a partition spanning the whole disk, destroying everything there ..., or use *free* space to create its own partition.
The right way is so to start the Solaris installation with free space available on the disk (this is different from a free partition)
I found no way to have Solaris installing its slices on an existing partition (perhaps it does if "update" is chosen, but it was a fresh install).

For information, here is the lilo table I use on the fourth partition:

Code:

default="Linux(2.4)-1"

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.26
        label="Linux(2.4)-1"
        initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.4.26
        append="ramdisk_size=100000 lang=fr apm=power-off hda=scsi hdb=scsi hdc=scsi hdd=scsi hde=scsi hdf=scsi hdg=scsi hdh=scsi nomce "
        read-only

image=/mnt/hda2/boot/vmlinuz
        label="JDS2(hda2)"
        root=/dev/hda2
        initrd=/boot/initrd.img
        append="ramdisk_size=100000 lang=fr apm=power-off hda=scsi hdb=scsi hdc=scsi hdd=scsi hde=scsi hdf=scsi hdg=scsi hdh=scsi nomce "
        read-only

other=/dev/hda1
        label="WindowsXP(hda1)"

other=/dev/hda3
        label="Solaris"
        loader=/boot/chain.b